Ammonia distillation system



Matth 2l', 1950 F 'E.G|LM0`RE y 2,501,326

AmIQNIA DISTILLATIQN SYSTEM Filed July 19, 1945 2 Shetfs-Shei;v 1

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March 21, 1950 F. E. GILMQRE AMMONIA DISTILLATION` SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 19. 1945 l INVENTOR. f/Pfsr T G/z. n70/Pf A rra/P/Vfys Patented Mer. 21,195() AMMONIA DISTILLATION SYSTEM Forrest E. Gilmore, Bartlesville, Okla., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to IFrizld Transport Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York vApplication July 19, 1945, Serial No. 605,901

1 claim. (c1. 2oz-4o) This invention relates to a system of refrigeration for use in conjunction with mobile transportation units.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide each of a plurality of transportation units such as automobile trucks or railway cars, both passenger and freight, with only the evaporator or cooling unit and the absorber of an absorption refrigeration system. Then, at various strategic locations in the area being covered by the transportation units, whether for a city, a state, or a nation, there are located central supply or service stations where periodically the transportation units will come to have the absorbers emptied and the evaporator and absorbers recharged. Thereafter, either at the service station or at still other strategically located points, the drained contents of the absorbers are passed through the recovery apparatus of the system whereby the refrigerant and absorbent are recovered and each stored ready for recharging transportation units.

In operating such a system, it has been found desirable especially where a vnumber of shippers use the same transportation units which are being serviced from a plurality of different recovery plants or service stations, to so operate the system as a whole that refrigerant of a predetermined quality and absorbent of a predetermined quality, always are furnished to the transportation units. This arrangement keeps the system in balance insofar as refrigerant and absorbent are concerned. The higher the quality of refrigerant, the better the system operates and the present invention contemplates the use of refrigerant that is at least 99% pure and also a recovery system operating economically and eiliciently.

It is one object of this invention to provide improved arrangements for separating refrigerant from absorbent and recovering both.

In the present refrigerating system, ammonia is the refrigerant and water is-the absorbent so that when the absorbers of a transportation unity recharging the transportation units.

Other objects, novel features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings. wherein:

Fig. l is a schematic view of asystem embodying the invention; l

Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section of the generator forming part oi' the system;

Fig. 3 is asimilar view of the dehydrator formy ing part of the system, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of either the generator or dehydrator.

The generator III comprises a vertical generally cylindrical tank in the bottom of which is arranged a heating coil II, the opposite ends of which are connected through pipes I2 and I 3 witha heater I4 which produces steam for circulationv through the coil. A standard steam trap I5 is provided in the pipe I4. The generator I0 is in the nature of a bubble tower, the specific structure of which will be later described in detail in connection with Figs. 2 and 4. A pipe I6 leads from the top of the generator I0 to an intermediate point in a dehydrator comprising a vertical cylindrical tank I1 also in the nature of a bubble towerand the specific details of which will later be described.

A storage tank I8 for strong liquor has a pipe I9 leading from the lower portion of the tank through a manually operated valve 20 to the inlet of a pump 2|, the outlet of which is connected by a pipe 22 through one passageway of a heat exchanger 23 to the generator I0 at a point approximately two-thirds of its height. A pipe 24 communicates with the tank I0 at two different elevations and includes a steam trap which is connected by a pipe 25 through the remaining passageway of the heat exchanger 23 to a storage tank 26 tor weak liquor.

The top of the dehydrator I1 is connected by a pipe 21 through a condenser 28 to a storage tank 23 for liquid anhydrous ammonia and coolant is circulated through the condenser by the pipe 28a. A pipe 30 leads from the condenser-28 through a drip valve 3l to the dehydrator I1. A valve-controlled pipe 32 leads from the bottom of the dehydrator I1 to the tank I8.

The generator I0 is equipped with a plurality of trays 1I, each of which supports a tube 12 projecting a slight distance above the top surface of the tray 'I I, and also projecting a considerable distance below the bottom surface. Each tray 1I also supports a plurality of tubes 13, each projecting above the tray 1I to a greater height than the tube 12. I'The tubes 12 of each tray 1I except the bottom one, extend downwardly below the level of the tops of the tubes 13 of the next lower tray. Each tube 13 is covered by a cone-shaped cap 14 having at its rim serrations 15 of less height than the height of the tube 12 above the .tray 1I. The lowermost tube 12 projects below the level of the liquid in the generator. In the top of the generator there is provided a coil 16- through which a coolant is circulated.

Weak liquor or weak aqua-annnonia is contained in the lower portion of the generator I and strong liquor or strong aqua-ammonia is supplied by the pump 2| to the generator I0 from the storage tank I8 through the pipes I9, 22 and at a point such that the majority of the trays Il are below the point of liquor introduction. The weak liquor in the bottom of the generator is heated above vaporization temperature by the passage of steam through the coil II and the vapor thus produced is -utilized for removing ammonia fromthe strong liquor introduced through the pipe 25.

`During operation of the generator, each tray II supports a body o1 liquid equal in height to the extent of the tube 'I2 above the tray 1I, the liquid being aqua-ammonia of progressively increasngistrength in the succession of trays upwardly,y The vapor emanating from the body of weak liquor in the bottom of the generator passes upwardly through the tubes 13 of successive trays 2l into the caps 'I4 and is forced to escape from the caps 'I4 through the serrations 15 and consequently passes through the body of liquid supported by each tray 1I. In the passage of the water vapor through the lowermost tray, the vapor gives up some of its heat to the liquid in the tray and vaporizes some of the ammonia in the liquid with concurrent condensation of a portion of the wat-er vapor. The mixture of the remaining Water vapor and ammonia vapor passes upwardly to the next tray in which a similar effect takes place while the condensate remains in the tray. The overflow from eachtray 'Ii passes downwardly through successive tubes I2 to the lower portion of the generator I0. By reason of the fact that the vapor is at its highest temperature upon passage through the lowest tray Ii and decreases as it passes through successive trays, its vapflzingeiect decreases as it passes upwardly and the liquid inthe trays 1I progressively increases in ammonia content. The coil 'l5 serves to remove superheat from the vapor stream and to supply condensed strong liquor to the top tray.

r1"he vapor stream passes from the top of the generator I0 through the pipe I6 to the dehydrator I'I below the bottom tray II therein. Anhydrous liquid ammonia is supplied from the condenser 28 through the pipe 30 and drip valve 3| to the dehydrator I'I above the top tray 1I. As described in connection with the generator I0, each tray 'II supports a body of liquid through which vapor passes successively by way of the tubes 13 and caps 1l. The liquid contained in the dehydrator trays either is anhydrous liquid ammonia or liquid ammonia slightly diluted with vwater and absorbs from the vapor passing therethrough all traces of water vapor so that anhy drous ammonia vapor passes out of the dehydrator l1 by'way of the pipe 21 to the condenser 28 in which it is liqueed by cooling. The overflow `from `the various trays passes downwardly through the tubes I2 to the bottom of the de hydrator from which it is periodically drained through the pipe 32 to the storage tank` I8.

Weak liquor is drained from the bottom of the generator I0 through the pipe 24 and heat exchanger 23 to the storage tank 26. The hot weak liquor in its passage through the heat exchanger 23 preheats the strong liquor passing through the A method for producing substantially anhy-- drous ammonia from strong ammonia liquor, in-

cluding the steps of introducing heated water vapor to a rst tower, introducing the strong ammonia liquor to the first tower above the location where the heated water vapor is introduced thereto, the strong ammonia liquor being introduced to the rst tower below its top portion, a cooling zone in the top portion to condense water vapor from the ammonia gas therein and produce an ammonia liquor down ow therein, removing weak ammonia liquor from the lower portion of the rst tower when this liquor accumulates therein and storing this liquor for use when needed, removing ammonia gas from the upper portion of the iirst tower when it is generated from the strong liquor and introducing this ammonia gas to a second tower, introducing substantially anhydrous liquid ammonia to the second tower above the location where the ammonia gas is introduced thereto to dehydrate the gas, removing strong ammonia liquor from the lower portion of the second tower when this liquor accumulates therein and keeping it separated from the stored weak ammonia liquor, recirculating at least a part of said strong ammonia liquor removed frozn the second tower and adding it to the strong ammonia liquor feed of the rst tower and removing ammonia gas from the upper portion of the second tower as the desired substantially anhydrous ammonia, said substantially anhydrous ammonia gas removed from the second tower being condensed to liquid ammonia of which a portion is returned to the second tower to provide said introduction of substantially anhydrous liquid ammonia thereto and the balance ls stored for: use as substantially anhydrous liquid ammonia.

FORREST E. GILMORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

